17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock[a] I will build my church, and the gates of hell[b] shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[c]in heaven.” – Matthew 16:17-19
Imagine 40,000 people in squalid conditions on a flat mountaintop. They are running out of food and water.
They don’t want to be on the mountain, but they can’t leave or an army of murdering terrorists at the base of the mountain will slaughter them. And this isn’t some horrendous tale from Old Testament times. It is happening right now.
The people on the mountain have a choice a little like some Americans had on September 11, 2001, trapped on the upper floors of the twin towers: jump to death or burn to death.
There is another similarity between the two events; both are the satanic work of militant jihadists who believe that Christians, Jews and anyone else who doesn’t embrace their beliefs should be killed. They are terribly effective; tens of thousands of Christians around the world are dying each year for simply being Christian.
Martyrs have been created on every continent in the 21st century (with the exception of Antarctica – too cold for Jihadists). A martyr isn’t only some saint from 1000 years ago who was fed to the lions or burned at the stake.
Today’s martyrs are being tortured, raped, beheaded, shot, stabbed and, yes, even crucified.
I don’t know the answer to this genocidal crisis, but suspect it will require a combination of military intervention and divine miracles – and much prayer (that’s the part I’m working on.)
But I do know that evil exists. A man who would rape and torture a woman, beat a child to death or behead a father in front of his family is not a religious zealot or out-of-control jihadist. He is the personification of evil.
That agent of evil may cause horrendous pain and suffering. But we know that in the end, the Kingdom of Christ will reign.
